University News

CONGRESSMAN BENNIE G. THOMPSON MVSU COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

May 05, 2013

Congressman Bennie will be the speaker for Mississippi
Valley State University's 61st Commencement on Saturday, May 11, 8:00 a.m., in
the Rice-Totten Stadium on the campus in Itta Bena, Miss.

MVSU’s acting president, Dr. Alfred
Rankins, Jr., will confer degrees to approximately 500 undergraduate and
graduate students during the ceremony. In addition, Dr. Rankins will confer
golden degrees to members of the Class of 1963.

Bennie
G. Thompson is currently serving his 11th term as the Democratic
congressman for Mississippi's Second District and 3rd term on the
Homeland Security Committee. The Second District stretches from Tunica in the
north to Jefferson County in the south and all points in-between, creating a
rare blend of agricultural economies and the hustle and bustle of city life.

Congressman Thompson has spent his entire adult life giving a voice to the
voiceless. With more than 45 years of continuous public service, he is the
longest-serving African-American elected official in the state of
Mississippi.From
1968 to 1972, he
served as alderman and mayor in his hometown, after which he served as Hinds
County Supervisor for 13 years before being elected to Congress in 1993. With
six district offices - Bolton, Greenville, Greenwood, Jackson, Marks, and Mound
Bayou - Congressman Thompson is committed to empowering those who gave him an
opportunity to represent the Second District of Mississippi. His reputation as
a no-nonsense problem solver has earned him the trust of his constituents and
the respect of his colleagues in Washington.

To begin the 110th Congress, Thompson was promoted by his colleagues to serve
as the first ever Democratic Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, a
committee that was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the
aftermath of September 11, 2001. As chair, Congressman Thompson recently
introduced and engineered House passage of the most comprehensive homeland
security package since September 11th, H.R. 1, the "9/11 Commission
Recommendations Act of 2007."

Drawing on his 26 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter in Hinds
County, Thompson understands that our nation's law enforcement and first
responders are our first line of defense in times of emergency. With that in
mind, he has constantly fought to ensure they are fully equipped with the
resources and tools they need effectively to respond to any and all
emergencies.

Congressman Thompson has long been considered
a leading voice for civil rights, equal education and healthcare reform. He has
helped to make a real difference in the lives of his constituents. In 1975, he
filed a lawsuit to increase funding at Mississippi's historically black
universities. With Congressman Thompson as lead plaintiff, the case was settled
in 2004 for an unprecedented $503 million. In 2000, Congressman Thompson's
legislation creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care
Disparities became law.

Congressman Thompson
is a lifelong member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Bolton, Miss. He
has been married to his college sweetheart, London Johnson of Mound Bayou,
Miss., for 44 years. The couple has one daughter
BendaLonne, one granddaughter, Jeanna and one grandson, Thomas Gordon.

Congressman Thompson
is an avid outdoorsman. He also enjoys gardening, reading, and listening to
blues music.